Moving to London

[TxPato]

Hello! We're being relocated from Texas, US to London this summer.

My husband’s job is in district 1 (EC2). We want to keep his commute to be within 30-45 minutes.

We have two sons, ages 5 and 7. We would like to move into a good catchment area for a good school.

Our budget is $4000 pcm. We would prefer a house, but are open to a flat. We have been looking at Islington and East Dulwich.

Any and all suggestions or advice are welcome. I have always lived in Texas. We are excited for this move, but we are going in completely lost.

Thanks!

South-East London might not have the tube but we do have the Overground, and one of the benefits of that is that it keeps running during tube strikes.

Forest Hill / Honor Oak / Dulwich / Peckham is a lovely area with some fabulous parks & woods. When I'm out running on Saturdays I nearly always see kids' football matches going on .

Do you want a british school or american school?

Islington will be easier to get to American schools.

I second the Barbican. I used to live there and we loved it - nicest place we lived in London. Your husband will be able to walk to work and your boys will have access to loads of nearby sports facilities including a football (soccer) pitch just for residents. There are lots of other children living on the Estate and several schools very nearby, as well as a library, art gallery, theatre, concert hall, open air food market, restaurants & cafes, a Waitrose supermarket all within or the Estate or just on the doorstep. Don't be put off by the concrete architecture - it looks very inner-city and brutal (literally) but these are actually very exclusive properties originally built for well-heeled city workers. After a while the architecture really grows on you as it's very majestic and the lake is very picturesque. Also the apartments and duplexes are all really well designed, and what you lose in a private garden is definitely compensated by the residents shared gardens which are very big and just lovely in the summer. Sorry for the long post!

i do not have younger children , but islington is short hop to arsenal football club - they probably have a junior club etc, or you can get to regents park and victoria park very easily ...i know regents park has playing fields etc , i am not there on the weekend so do not know if there are kids clubs/teams playing ther but most likely
Islington is and feels very central london, you would certainly get the london experience, dulwhich etc south are more suburbs ..but i am a true londoner and anything outside zone 1 is suburbia to me !!:)

American in East Dulwich here.

And not that I'm trying to sway you in any direction, but it might be worth checking out the East Dulwich Forum if you want some more south london views.

Some more things to consider- is this a short term or long term move? And exactly how old is your youngest? Will he be six by the end of August?

Islington is a fab area for families. In terms of outdoor space, Highbury Fields are nearby, nice enough park. But you are also not far from Finsbury Park which, IMO, is one of the best London parks. London is an awesome place to live, hope you enjoy it.

@Littlelondoner

We are wanting british schools.

@Flatlander

Not long at all. Thank you so much for your input! I really appreciate it.

@theredjellybean

@californiaburrito

Hello!

Minimum two year stay, open ended. My oldest will turn seven in a few weeks and my youngest turned five in early April.

My oldest finished up first grade and was promoted to second. My youngest finished up pre-k and was promoted to kindergarten.

@Barbadosgirl

Thank you! We are so excited for the move.

Islington has some nice parks, Highbury fields and Barnard park are nice. You're a short hop from Hampstead heath and waterlow park in Highgate too, clissold park in neighbouring stoke Newington is lovely. I love Islington.

East Dulwich doesn't have that great transport links and a lot of the area is a loooong way from the station. Peckham has much better transport (rail, tube (overground) and buses) and is a good place to live especially for primary. You'd still easily be able to get to the Dulwich schools if you're looking for private schooling.

'Main' East Dulwich has an overground train to London Bridge, which has been affected badly by the issues surrounding Southern. Honor Oak, Peckham and Forest Hill all have different trains into London Bridge and Victoria, and also the Orange Line. So far better. Peckham Rye is also on the Thameslink.

Hello TxPato! I would highly recommend Ealing in West London. It's very well connected to central London with three Tube lines serving the area, national rail swift to Paddington and Crossrail to come in the next couple of years although the commute would be longer than it would be from areas such as Islington. However it's a fantastic area, lots of parks and green space, independent shops, restaurants and pubs, many families and a strong community - many community events across the area and people tend to know one another (it may be like this around the city but the stereotype of not knowing neighbours is very much not the case here). I would highly recommend visiting though and sampling some of the local pubs/restaurants if you can.

Thank you so much for your insight and suggestions. It is greatly appreciated.

We have scheduled some viewings for both locations. Hopefully, we can finalize a lease soon.

I agree with The Barbican.
The stereotype of people not knowing eachother is perpetuated by people who don't live here or have recently moved in. London is full of friendly people and close knit communities